Top DoD Health Official Visits Nation's Medical Center

BETHESDA, Md. (NNS) -- Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (WRNMMC) was visited by the top Department of Defense health affairs official to hear the concerns and issues of staff, wounded warriors and their families, June 7.

Dr. Jonathan Woodson, assistant secretary, defense for health affairs and director, TRICARE Management Activity, met with WRNMMC senior leadership staff, and wounded warriors and their families.

Woodson, a vascular surgeon and brigadier general in the U.S. Army Reserve, serves as principle advisor to the secretary of defense for health issues. He manages all TRICARE health and medical resources, supervising and administering TRICARE medical and dental programs, serving nearly 10 million beneficiaries.

In the military health system (MHS) worldwide, there are more than 133,000 military and civilian doctors, nurses, medical educators, researchers, health-care providers, allied health professionals and health administration personnel.

While on active military duty, Woodson was "on the ground," deployed to Saudi Arabia when Operation Desert Storm began, and he deployed to Kosovo, and Operation Enduring Freedom (Afghanistan) and Operation Iraqi Freedom. He has also served as a senior medical officer with the National Disaster Management System, where he responded to the attack in New York City, Sept. 11.

Last week at Walter Reed Bethesda, Woodson praised staff, and called this "a transformative period in the MHS."

"Change is often difficult because it creates a sense of turbulence, but in many cases, change is necessary," said Woodson. "I want to say, 'Thank you for the job that you do.' It's not an easy thing to do."

Woodson credited some "amazing" things accomplished in the MHS during the last ten years. He cited the improvements in medical evacuations, which have saved many lives, the innovations in telemedicine, allowing "sophisticated care" to be delivered in remote areas, and the lowering of mortality rates.

The senior defense health advisor encouraged people to build on these improvements and innovations, because of the DoD's mission of caring for the nation's heroes and their families.

"Going forward, we have to figure out how to get things in balance, said Woodson. "I recognize there's a growing tension between services being able to train, equip and modernize the force versus what we need to do to continue to provide superb care, access to care, [and a] medically-ready force. We have a responsibility to modernize the medical force."

For the future, the military medicine team needs to be more joint and integrated.

"We [also must] appreciate what our civilian colleagues do," said Woodson. "Civilians are a very important part of our organization. We need them."

Woodson ensured the hospital staff that their thoughts are of concern.

"I would remind you, your feelings are being felt throughout the entire MHS as we work through this transformative and [fiscally-challenging] period," said Woodson. "I cannot do this [and] your leadership cannot do this without you. We need you to surface the issues, continue to motivate and inspire and not get demoralized with the process. We will solve these issues together and on the other side, be stronger for it. Thank you for all you do."

After meeting with the Walter Reed Bethesda staff, Woodson visited wounded warriors and their families on the wards to inquire about the care they are receiving at the Nation's Medical Center.

For more news from National Naval Medical Center, visit www.navy.mil/local/nnmc/ .